Air humidifier



Sept. 17, 193,5.l R. D. MATTEsoN AIR HUMIDIFIER Filed Jan. 24, 1933 2 Sheets-SheetV 2 1T n. I IHVIIII Hl IIIII ||IM HI .IH MMIII IHIIII IHIIH. n |I| MII In. I IIIII MIIIIII ..||IHIIII|II Ilmlll. .INHIIIIIIII JH n IIII; |I I l n I mw e @l ITM QN uw m ww l QN/ .III I y l oo o en ao al I\\ @I Il. 000 000 II Q I M m\ u .Il MY MN. L H NM1 L JNVENTOR.

ATTORNEY..

Patented Sept. 17, 1935 s PATENT' oFFlcE l AIB HUMIDIFIER Ralph D. Matteson, Boise, Idaho Application January24, 1933, Serial No. 653,304

This invention relates to an improved humidifier adapted to be used for moistening and cooling or heating the air in or supplied to a room, receptacle, or the like.,

The primary object of-the present invention is l'Another 'object of the'invention is provide an Vair huviidier including improved and emcient means for positively saturating the air as it is caused to ow through the casing of the humidifier.

Still another object of the invention is-to provide'meansv Aat the outlet end of the casing of the `humidiiier for causing the moistened air to v whirl and spread rapidly, thereby avoiding a concentrated blast of air where the latter issues from the humidiner, and giving a general movement of air entirely over the space to be humidifled.

Other objects and features of the invention will become apparent from the following description when considered in connection with the accompanying drawings, in which:

Figure 1 is an end elevationall view of an air humidier gembbdying the present invention,

looking toward the' intake end of the casing'.

Figure 2 is a view similar to Figure 1, looking towardv the outlet or discharge end of the casing.

40 Figure 3 is a central longitudinal sectionalview ofthe humidifier. Figure 4 is a transverse section on line 4 4 of Figure 3; and Figure 5 is a fragmentary horizontal section on line 5'-5 of Figure 3. f

Referring in detail to the drawings,- Bindicates v a covered elongated water pan or receptacle of shallow form, providing a base upon which is constructed or mounted an -elongated horizontal open-ended casing 6; The casing 6y has a screc'ned inlet 1 at one end and an outlet 8 atas at 'I0 so that it may be removed for access to the interior of casing 6, and the screen 1 at the -inlet of casing-6 is similarly detachably secured in place as at I I'. The unit 9 includes a spreading cone'and a circular series ofyradial pitched 5,

vanes I 2 extending from the cone at thecenter of -the outlet opning to the periphery of the latter.

As the moistened air issues from `the outlet 8, the blades I2 give the same a whirling motion and f:

together with the cone cause it to spread rapidly 10 `t so as to avoid aconcentrated blast issuing from" the casing 6. This is attendant withl many ad- 1 vantages and particularly gives a general movement 'of air entirely over the space to be humidilfled so that the latter maintains a nearly uni- 15 y form temperature throughout.

A motor driven fan I3 is mounted in the casing 8 near the outlet Il,v and has for its purpose to positively causey ay rapid ilow of airlinto andl through the casing I to be humidifled. Jour- 20 naled cen ally of the casing 6 between the inlet 'Il andthef Il is a hollow, horizontal, elongated, cylinder br cylindrical water spraying element I4 v that is closed at the ends and ,provided substantially from end to end with a spiral series of pe- 25 'gipheral sprayv openings f I5. The cylindrical spraying element Il is driven by the motor I6 of fan I3', the element Il having 'a shaft Il at the end adjacent motor I6 coupled to the power shaft of the latter as at Il. In this way, -the spraying 30 element Il is rapidly rotated as thel'fan Il is: driven. r.

A gear I! is provided on the shaft oft-,prayingl element Il at the oppositeend of the latter adjacent the inlet 1, and meshing with gear lI9 is a 35 gear 2'secured on the drive shaft 2| of a water pump 22 arranged within -the adjacent end of water pan 5 with its inlet 23 adjacent thebottom of the latter. The outlet ,24 of pump 22 extends upwardly into casing 6 where it is connected by 40 a pipe 25 with an axial water inlet pipe 26 for spraying element I I. It will thus'be seen that 1 y when motor I Bis placed into operation, the fan I3 is driven thereby, as is also the spraying4 element Il,which in turn drives the pump 22 i through the gearing I8 and 20; The pump 22 isrshown as tiltabymounted on a horizontal axis 21 so that its shaft 2I may swing toward gear I9 to bring the gear 2li into engagementfwith the Y latter, such engagement beingyieldingly eiected 50 by resilient means as at 28, and the gears I9 and i 2l being ofthe friction However, it is obvious that beveled gears may be used in place oi gears I9 andl 20, in-which case the same are preferably provided in' a suiteie housing. 55

c be filled with water or may have its water sup- As the pump 22 is driven in the manner described above, water is drawn from pan 5 and forced into spraying element Il by pump 22, whereupon the water issues from the Jsmall openings I5 in a substantially spiral film that is rapidly rotated due to rotation of element Il. This vcauses complete and thorough saturation of the entire volume of air passing through casing 6 in a uniform and positive manner, and makes possible the practical use of fan Il by which the air is rapidly caused to flow through casing 6 for maximum air humidifying capacity.

The top of water pan 5 has a drain opening at 29 associated with a sediment trap lll, by means of which excess moisture supplied to casing 5 by spraying element- I 4 may be drained fromthe casing 6 back to the pan 5 for re-use, and by means of which impurities extracted from the ar passing through casing 6 may be collected. In small air humid-ifying devices, the pan 5 may ply replenished from time to time through a top iilling opening 3| provided in an extended end of the pan as shown clearly in Figure 3.

Under ordinary conditions, when the air passes through casing 6 and is moistened, it issues from the casing 6 in a considerably cooled state. However, in case it is desired to heat the air before it issues from casing 6 and after being humidied,

"either to bring the air back to or above room temperature, I provide: an electrical air \heat'er as at 32 in a vertical position coincident with outlet opening 8 and between fan I3 and unit 9. 'I'his electrical heatermay be suitably mounted 'by brackets secured to the casing of motor I8,

and may consist in a series of vertical resistance coils, as shown. Any suitable means may be provided for controlling and adjusting the air heater so that the lattei` will heat the air to,the desired temperature, but such controlling and adjusting meansis not shown inP view of the fact' that the same may take any conventional or well known form and constitutes no specinc part of the present invention.

In order to remove excess moisture from the air before it is heated and discharged from casing 6, I preferably provide suitable vertical overlapping bailies 33 extending obliquely and from top to bottom of the casing 6 between the spray- 5 ing device `Il and the motor I6. It will be ap parent 4that the moistened air striking against these baiiles before issuing from the casing, will have excess moisture removed therefrom, thus insuring issuing of the air from the casing free 10 of suspended particles of water lto an objectionable degree.

'I'he operation of the device having been explained as the description of the construction progressed, it is believed that the operation and l5 advantages of the invention will be readily understood and appreciated by those skilled in the art without further detailed description. It will be'apparent that the invention provides a very practical arrangement for carrying out the stated 20 objects thereof, and it is to be understood that minor changes are contemplated in the construction illustrated and described without departing from the spirit and scope ofthe invention as claimed.

What I claim as new is:

In an air humidifier, a water pan, an openended casing mounted on said water pan, a fan mounted irr the casing for causing flow of air through the latter, said fan having a driving mo- 30 tor', an elongated cylindrical drum journaled axially of the casing at the receiving side of said fan and operatively connected at one end to the motor of the fan, said drum being provided with a series of peripheral water discharge open- 35 ings, means including a pump in the pan for sup-y plying water under pressure from said pan toA the cylinder, said pump having an upwardly extending drive shaft, and a direct driving connec-l tion between the other end of the cylinder and 40 said drive shaft of the pump. f

i RALPH Df'MA'r'rEsoN. 

